CryptoPunks lending,
explained.
Understand CryptoPunk loans and compare the terms before you commit.
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CryptoPunk loan activity, by year
Recorded ETH/WETH loan starts, from 2020 through September 2026.
Read the methodologyThe protocol mix changes by year. The 2023 peak includes substantial Blend activity; new loan records can replace earlier debt. These bars do not measure market-wide growth or decline.
Borrow against an NFT. Lend against collateral.
In an NFT-backed loan, the owner pledges an NFT and receives cryptocurrency. Repayment releases the collateral. If the borrower defaults, the lender may receive the NFT or proceeds from its liquidation.
For the borrower
You get liquidity without an immediate sale. Your cost depends on the interest rate, fees, currency and how long the loan stays open. You still need a repayment plan: failing to repay can cost you your Punk.
For the lender
You commit capital in exchange for interest and collateral protection. Your result depends on both repayment and what the Punk could actually recover after a default. A valuable NFT is not the same as cash on demand.
What does LTV mean? A 20 ETH loan against a Punk valued at 40 ETH starts at 50% loan-to-value. If its value falls to 25 ETH, that becomes 80%. Whether a liquidation follows depends on the contract; a changing valuation alone does not trigger every type of NFT loan.
Where does your Punk go? Some lending protocols require a wrapped Punk: a wrapper contract holds the original, and an ERC-721 token represents it. During a Gondi loan, the collateral sits in escrow until repayment releases it; default can lead to liquidation. Check which wrapper the protocol accepts before approving a transfer. How wrapping works · Gondi custody and repayment.
For one current example, see Gondi’s loan mechanics. Pool lending and refinancing auctions can work differently.
What have CryptoPunk loans returned?
We decoded the lender payments for a defined set of historical NFTfi loans. Across 1,694 repaid WETH loans, the average loan lasted 34 days.
Repaid loans only · Historical sample · Returns per loan, not per year
- Mean return in ETH
- +1.19% Median: +1.11% per repaid loan
- Mean return valued in USD
- +3.28% Median: +0.61% per repaid loanHolding ETH over the same periods: +2.06% in USD
These are not whole-portfolio returns. The dollar figure includes ETH’s price movement. The sample measures terminal repayment after protocol deductions; gas and separate extension payments are excluded.
Defaults are outside these averages. In the full NFTfi inventory, 103 of 4,377 loans defaulted (2.4%). Among WETH loans, 60 of 1,856 defaulted (3.2%). These are shares of loans, not percentages of capital lost; collateral recoveries are not included in the return figures.
Do not annualize these returns. The sample excludes defaults and does not measure time spent waiting between loans. It spans September 2020 to August 2026; it is not a forecast or a comparison of PunkPredictor users with other lenders.
How we calculated this →Why a quoted APR does not tell you what you’ll earn
APR expresses a rate over a year. A 30-day loan at 12% simple APR earns about 0.99% gross interest if repaid at maturity. On a standard Gondi loan with a 15% protocol fee on interest and no origination fee, that becomes about 0.84% before gas. Private offers and older contract versions can have different fees.
Early repayment can shorten earnings, refinancing changes the life of the position, and defaults replace a cash repayment with a recovery problem. Money waiting in an unfilled offer earns no loan interest. Gondi’s fee schedule.
A rate is only one part of the offer.
PunkPredictor connects individual Punk valuations with decoded loan history and live Gondi offers. Use those together to decide which terms are worth offering.
Check the Punk behind the loan
Compare the loan with the Punk’s estimated value, valuation range, floor and liquidity. Trait-level pricing matters when two Punks could recover very different amounts.
Compare terms before committing ETH
Set capital and duration in the Gondi offer planner. Compare live competition, fees and potential interest, then inspect how a fall in collateral value changes the risk. A competitive offer is not a guaranteed fill.
Follow offers and loans after posting
The daily lender view brings tracked Gondi positions together: expiring offers, changing competition, approaching maturities and collateral context. Historical filters help you investigate the wider market.
How to borrow against a CryptoPunk
Start with the amount you can repay, then compare the offers available for your collateral.
Protocol status matters. NFTfi’s dApp has shut down and no longer offers new loans or refinancing. Its records remain in our historical analysis. Read the official notice.
- Check collateral value and currency
Compare your Punk’s valuation with the collection floor. ETH debt and stablecoin debt create different exposure as prices move.
- Compare the full cost and exit terms
Look at the amount received after upfront fees, interest owed, due date, early repayment and refinancing rules. Check how your Punk is held and how a default is resolved.
- Review and accept on the protocol
Gondi currently supports NFT-backed borrowing. Check its loan guide, then review available offers on Gondi. Availability and collateral requirements can change.
NFT lending questions
What is NFT lending?
NFT lending lets an owner borrow cryptocurrency against an NFT held as collateral. The borrower owes principal and interest; a default can put the NFT into the lender’s hands or a liquidation auction, depending on the protocol.
Can I borrow against a CryptoPunk without selling it?
Yes. Supported lending protocols let you pledge a CryptoPunk as collateral. You can recover it by repaying under the agreed terms. You can lose it if you default; check custody, wrapping, due dates and liquidation rules before accepting an offer.
Is NFT lending profitable?
It can be, but quoted APR is not a realized return. Fees, early repayment, refinancing, defaults, recovery proceeds and idle capital all matter. A positive return in ETH can become a loss in USD if ETH falls enough.
What is a safe loan-to-value ratio for a CryptoPunk?
There is no universally safe LTV. Compare principal with the specific Punk’s estimated value, available bids, selling costs and the amount you might recover under stress. A model valuation is not a guaranteed sale price.
Can I still get a new loan on NFTfi?
No. NFTfi’s official shutdown notice says new loans, offers, refinancing and extensions are unavailable. Its records are useful historical evidence; existing obligations can be handled through the published on-chain wind-down instructions.
Does PunkPredictor lend money or guarantee returns?
No. PunkPredictor provides valuations, lending research and tools for comparing loan terms. The lending workspace requires a Trader membership. Any offer or transaction is reviewed and signed separately on the lending protocol.
A small public window into the lending market
This report combines PunkPredictor’s decoded loan history with a separately verified NFTfi repayment sample. Annual activity ends September 30, 2026. Research was reviewed ; this is a dated study, not a live rate feed.
Annual loan activity: numbers and coverage
Each start is one recorded CryptoPunk collateral position labeled initiated in our lending data. Only ETH/WETH-denominated positions are included. Principal is summed at those starts; it is not outstanding debt, unique capital, or net new money entering the market.
| Year | Loan starts | Principal · ETH |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 12 | 32.95 |
| 2021 | 21 | 577.10 |
| 2022 | 592 | 21,277.29 |
| 2023 | 2,735 | 96,607.39 |
| 2024 | 1,738 | 46,022.28 |
| 2025 | 918 | 27,682.89 |
| 2026 through Sep 30 | 425 | 11,415.36 |
Separately labeled refinances, renegotiations, rollovers, new tranches, bundle records, cross-margin borrows and terminal events are excluded. A newly created loan can still refinance earlier debt. Multiple collateral positions can belong to one financing arrangement.
The series includes recorded activity from NFTfi, Gondi, Blend, BendDAO, Arcade, MetaStreet, Bitty and Cyan where it meets those criteria. Protocol coverage changes over time. Stablecoin lending is excluded, so the chart alone cannot establish whether the whole market grew or shrank. V1 Punks are outside this study.
Repaid-loan returns: calculation and exclusions
The source inventory contains 4,377 contract-scoped NFTfi CryptoPunk loans: 4,274 repaid and 103 defaulted. We decode amountPaidToLender from terminal Ethereum events using each deployment’s ABI, rather than treating maximum contractual repayment as cash received.
The published sample is 1,694 repaid WETH loans with zero recorded upfront origination fee, the same lender address at origination and final repayment, and daily FX observations at both dates. We exclude 2,478 repaid loans in other currencies, 19 with upfront fees, and 83 with a changed final lender. All 103 defaults are excluded, including 60 WETH loans. These figures describe loans, not an average person’s portfolio.
The WETH default-rate denominator is the full WETH inventory: 1,796 repaid loans plus 60 defaults, or 1,856 loans. It is broader than the filtered repayment sample. Both default rates count loans equally and do not measure the amount of principal lost.
ETH return = net terminal repayment ÷ principal − 1. USD-valued return = (net repayment × repayment-day ETH/USD) ÷ (principal × funding-day ETH/USD) − 1. ETH/USD uses our daily ETH/USDT history as a dollar proxy, not execution-time conversion or proof the lender sold ETH.
Means and medians give each loan equal weight. Principal-weighted ETH return is +1.17%. Mean actual duration is 34.0 days; median is 28.9 days. We do not annualize these averages. Gas, separate extension payments, default recoveries, idle capital and any secondary loan-rights purchase prices are outside the calculation.
The first included loan began September 14, 2020; the last repayment was August 21, 2026. This repaid-only sample has survivorship bias. It cannot establish overall lender profitability or demonstrate that PunkPredictor improves realized returns.
Primary sources and further reading
- NFTfi’s final public archive, cross-checked against Ethereum origination and terminal event evidence.
- Gondi loan basics, protocol fees and liquidation rules, checked October 3, 2026.
- NFTfi’s shutdown notice. Historical coverage is not a recommendation of a currently available venue.
The public page contains annual aggregates and summary results. The underlying decoded loan records, detailed protocol series and lender tools remain in the product.
Know the Punk. Check the terms.
Compare individual Punk values, live Gondi offers and fees in one workspace. Trader membership also includes the daily view of your tracked offers and loans.